Vintage Cameras & Reviews

In early 2013, my daughter and I were looking at an old Agfa Billy I had picked up in a Belgian flea market years ago, and a Kodak Six20 my other daughter had bought at a yard sale, and she wondered whether it would be possible to take photos with either of them. Next thing you know, I was bidding on old cameras on eBay, and we’ve had fun learning how to use them, discovering how they work, and seeing if they still do!

If you are searching for a particular camera, they are sorted first by manufacturer (alphabetically), and then by first year of manufacture.

Anthony & Scovill Ansco No. 2 – 1903-1906; used 3 1/4 by 4 1/4 rollfilm type 118. A huge box camera with wooden insides about which there is not a whole lot of information on the net. The camera has almost no markings, and I only figured out what it was (I think) by looking up the (very faint) patent numbers on the inside back cover. In 1907, after this “Ansco box” was no longer being made, the company renamed itself as “Ansco.” Given as a gift from my mother.
– Photos of the camera: front view | angled view
– (Photos made with the camera – I’m sure I’ll figure something out)

Ansco Karomat (aka Agfa Karat 36) – 1948 – mid-1950s, uses 35mm cartridge film. The Ansco Karomat was the Agfa Karat 36 re-badged for the American market. The Karat was the final model in a line of cameras produced from the 1930s onward, and the 36/Karomat was the first to abandon the rapid cartridge for the 35mm cartridge. In 1953, it sold for $164US (over $1200 in 2007 US dollars – these were not cheap cameras!). Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front view
– Photos made with the camera: Flickr album | Review
– Camera Manual
– Other reviews: Mike Eckman dot com | CJ’s Classic Camera Collection

Ansco Shur-Shot Jr – 1948, uses 120 rollfilm. Purchased on eBay. This one is in almost pristine shape. In terms of construction, it appears identical to the Ansco B2 listed above – just a bit more decorative.
– Photos of the camera: front view
– Photos made with the camera: Flickr album | Review
– Other reviews: Photo.net

Bell & Howell Electric Eye 127– 1958, uses 127 film. Single fixed shutter speed with aperture controlled by selenium cell or an aperture slider hidden under the nameplate below the lens. Two film speed settings – about ISO 30 and about ISO 80. A red flag will appear in the bottom of the viewfinder if there is insufficient light. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front view | with case
– (Photos made with the camera)
– Camera manual

Berkey Keystone 310 Everflash – 1970s. Little information available on this compact camera everyone who lived through the 1970s remembers seeing. If you go to Lomography.com you can even see photos taken with this camera. Mine came with a roll of film inside it but nothing came out of it.
– Photo of the camera: front view

Canon AF35SM II – 1983 35mm camera which included a number of innovations by Canon. While walking on the beach in India taking photos with an old camera, I was approached by an Indian man who wanted to give me two film cameras he was no longer using – this was one of them.
– Photos of the camera: front view
– Photos made with the camera:

Houghton Ltd. Folding Ensign 3 1/4A – c. 1912, uses 122 film. Oddly large early folding camera (nearly a foot tall, lengthwise) made in the UK circa 1912. This one appears to be in full working order, though testing it will be a challenge as it uses a much larger format than is currently in production – basically the size of a postcard.
– Photos of the camera: front view | lens close-up
– Photos made with the camera: Flickr set | Review

No. 2 Folding Pocket Kodak (Model C or D) – 1905-1910 or maybe 1915. The model A appears to have been made in the late 1800s and there seem to be four models with many variations, with the last made from 1905-1910 or so. This camera is both marked as a Model C and a Model D Uses 101 rollfilm, which appears to be the first rollfilm size ever made – it takes 3.5 by 3.5 inch photos and was discontinued in the 1950s.
– Photos of the camera: Front | Lens | Model C marking | Model D marking
– Photos made with the camera: Review | Flickr Album

No. 1A Folding Pocket Kodak – 1906-1912, uses 116 rollfilm. This camera came in multiple versions – this is the “Model D” with red bellows, which narrows the range of years this camera could have been manufactured. It’s different in that its lens pops right off for some reason, and its insides are mainly made of wood – to include the original film spool, still present. The shutter on the original exemplar of this camera I owned was sticky, and nothing I could do would make it operate correctly. So I found another!
– Photos of the camera: front view | angled view
– Photos made with the camera: Flickr album | Review

Kodak Hawk-Eye No. 2 Model C – 1913, uses 120 rollfilm. A cardboard/leatherette box camera, the No. 2 was made by Kodak after taking over the Blair Camera Company, which made the No. 1 in the late 1800s. Later reissued as the 50th Anniversary Edition in 1930. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: angled front view
– Photos made with the camera: Flickr album | Review
– Camera manual

No. 2A Folding Autographic Brownie – 1915-1926, uses 116 film. This is an update of an earlier folding Brownie, but with the autographic feature, which allows the user to use a small stylus to write details concerning the photo when taking the shot, through a small window in the back of the camera. This one is in particularly good shape. You can tell from some of the features, including the rounded corners of the case, that this one was manufactured in 1917 or later. The film for this camera is no longer available, but it looks like it may be possible to use 120 film on the spare 116 spools I have – though I will lose a bit at the top and bottom.
– Photos of the camera: lens close-up | angled side view
– Photos made with the camera: Flickr set
– Camera manual

No. 2C Autographic Kodak Junior – 1916-1927, uses 130 rollfilm. Serial number 183945. Pretty common model; large, which makes the “junior” moniker a mystery. This model with the f7.7 Anastigmat Lens cost $25 back when it was being sold new. Appears to work but will need some modification to accept 120 film.
– Photos of the camera: angled front view | lens close-up | front view
– Photos made with the camera:

Vest Pocket Kodak Model B – 1925-1934, uses 127 film, also had the autographic feature. Seems to have been a step back from the previous model. Was also marketed as the Boy Scout Kodak and Girl Scout Kodak. This one is in great shape for a camera this age, though I’ve been working to seal a few tiny bellows leaks, and one of the metal prongs on the bottom front has come off. Purchased on eBay
– Photos of the camera: front view | left side | right side | lens close-up
– Photos made with the camera: Flickr album | Review
– Camera manual

Kodak No. 2 Hawk-Eye 50th Anniversary Edition – 1930, uses 120 rollfilm. To commemorate Kodak’s fiftieth anniversary, children turning 12 in 1930 were invited to come get a free camera during the month of may (while supplies lasted). Of a total supply of 500,000 in the U.S. and another 52,000 in Canada, supposedly they were all gone in two or three days.
– Photos of the camera: front view | side view
– Photos made with the camera: blog post (3D)

Kodak Six-20 Model C – 1932-1934, uses 620 rollfilm. Introduced by Kodak, along with the Six-16, to start using 620 film. There were several different versions, all done in art-deco styling
– Photos of the camera: top view | front view | lens close-up
– Photos made with the camera:

Kodak Jiffy Six-20 – 1933-1940, uses 620 rollfilm. Folding camera that gets its name from the ease/speed of taking a picture. Pops open with one button and takes a picture with another. Has two distance (focus) settings and two apertures operated by a sliding tab, f/8 and f/11; and a “time” and “instantaneous (about 1/25 second) settings. There were two versions; the series I art deco version (this one) is much nicer, I think. Series II are 1937 and later.
– Photos of the camera: angled front view | front view | rear view w/ original owner’s name
– (Photos made with the camera)
– Camera manual

Kodak Retina Type 118 – 1935-1936, uses 35mm film. This was the second Kodak model to use “daytime loading film” (i.e. the film cartridges we know today) but is special in that it was the model used by Sir Edmund Hillary to photograph Tenzing Norgay at the summit of Mount Everest. Purchased from a camera repair “shop” in Cape Town, South Africa.
– Photos of the camera: front view 1 | front view 2
– Photos made with the camera: Flickr album | Review

>Kodak Senior Six-20– 1937-1939, uses 620 rollfilm. Self erecting with two Kodak anastigmat lens options , either a f4.5 with Kodamatic shutter or a lesser quality f6.3 with a Kodex shutter. Mine has the latter. Features include a folding direct view eye-level finder, knurled winding knob, swing out film bracket and a shutter release that is located on the side of the camera. Originally priced at $20.50 for the f6.3 lens.
– Photos of the camera: angled view | lens close-up
– (Photos made with the camera)
– Camera manual (for the Senior Six-16)

Kodak Brownie Target Six-20 – 1946-1952, uses 620 film. Among the most common cameras; box camera that sold for $3.50. Its predecessor, the “Target Brownie Six-20” was similar and made from 1941-46. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: angled view | front view
– Photos made with the camera

Kodak Brownie Flash Six-20– 1946-1955, uses 620 film. This virtually indestructible metal camera sold for $6 just after World War II. It features an optical direct vision finder, a built-in closeup “portrait” lens, multiple exposure guard, time exposure capability, and a little tab that folds out to level the camera. It accepts a flashgun (which I have) and was renamed from the Six-20 Flash Brownie Camera. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front view | with flash attachment
– Photos made with the camera
– Camera manual

Kodak Brownie Hawkeye– 1950-1961, uses 620 film. A bakelite camera taking 6x6cm images, made in the USA and France by Kodak between 1949 and 1961 The version with flash attachments (this one) was made from 1950 onward, while the non-flash versions stopped production around 1951. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front view | angled side view
– Photos made with the camera:
– Camera manual

Kodak Duaflex IV– 1955-ish-1960, uses 620 film. A pseudo twin-lens reflex (TLR). This one is in pretty lousy shape – it came with other cameras I was after – but as long as the lens and shutter still work, these old cameras tend to work forever. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front view | angled side view– Photos made with the camera:
– Camera manual

Kodak Brownie Bullet – 1957-1964, uses 127 film. The Brownie Bullet is the same camera as the Brownie Holiday, except that it was given out as a promotional item, often in conjunction with purchases made from other companies. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front view
– (Photos made with the camera)
– Camera manual

Kodak Brownie Starmatic – 1959-1963, uses 127 film. The Starmatic is unique in that it uses a photocell to set exposure, making it the first automatic Brownie. Not clear if this one works (yet). Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: angled side view
– (Photos made with the camera)

Kodak Brownie Fiesta – 1962-1965, uses 127 film. Many of these were given away as promotions, for things like buying a certain amount of Campbell’s soup; or they could apparently be bought for $5.95. Mine comes with an attached flash bulb holder; later models allowed for the use of flash cubes. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front view
– Photos made with the camera: blog post | Flickr album
– Camera manual

Kodak Instamatic 104 – 1963-1966, uses 126 cartridges. One of millions of Kodak Instamatics manufactured in the 1960s and 1970s. The 104 was the model which introduced flash cubes. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front view
– (Photos made with the camera)

Kodak Instamatic 300 – 1963-1966, uses 126 cartridges. The 300 and 400 models were higher-end instamatics. This was the first automatic aperture instamatic, though the selenium light meter likely no longer works. One of millions of Kodak Instamatics manufactured in the 1960s and 1970s. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front view
– (Photos made with the camera)

Kodak Instamatic 134 – 1968-1971, uses 126 cartridges. One of millions of Kodak Instamatics manufactured in the 1960s and 1970s. Purchased on eBay. – photos of the camera: front view

Kodak Hawkeye Instamatic II – 1969-1975, uses 126 cartridges. The Hawkeye Instamatic II had little in common with any of the various “Hawkeyes” produced by Kodak – instead, it appears to have been a “rebrand” of the Instamatic 44, but solely for promotional giveaways. Purchased on eBay with a roll of film inside.
– Photos of the camera: front view | angled view
– Photos made with the camera: found film blog post

Kodak Instamatic X-35 – 1970-1976, uses 126 cartridges. One of millions of Kodak Instamatics manufactured in the 1970s. It’s got a 41mm f/8 Kodar lens with two focus zones: two to six feet and six feet to infinity. The shutter has two speeds: 1/90 and 1/45 for flash photography. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front view

Kodak Instamatic X-15 – 1970-1976, uses 126 cartridges. Purchased on eBay. This is the model of the first camera I ever owned. That actual camera is in better shape, but is somewhere in storage. They also typically came with a brown vinyl zipper case. This one came in its original box and a pamphlet “in case you need service.” I wonder if they would honor such a request…
– Photos of the camera: front view | in box | the box

Kodak Handle 2 – 1970s. Kodak’s attempt at an instant camera. Kodak had been making Polaroid’s film, and when Polaroid took over production, Kodak came out with this camera. And in 1986, lost the lawsuit over patent infringement. And there’s not much other information out there about this one. Acquired this one on eBay as part of a box of various cameras.
– Photos of the camera: front view

Kodak Instamatic X-15F – 1976-1988, uses 126 cartridges. One of millions of Kodak Instamatics manufactured in the 1970s/80s. This model was the last. Purchased on eBay with nearly a fully exposed roll of film inside.
– Photos of the camera: front view
– Photos made with the camera: (found film blog post)

Kodak Colorburst 250 – 1979-1982. This camera used “instant” film packs, but after a lawsuit by Polaroid, the camera was no longer produced and everyone got their money back. This came as part of a bundle of cameras I purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front view

Leica IIIc – 1941 red shutter model. During the war, it appears that Leica used some alternate material for their shutters, and they offered to replace them for free after the war. As a result, relatively few remain. However, when I tried to use mine, it turned out that the shutter material was completely porous, rendering the camera useless. Trying to make it work is an ongoing project. Read more here.
– Photos of the camera: front view

Mansfield Skylark – 1961, 35mm. A rebadged Yamato Palmat Automatic. A fixed-focus automatic-exposure viewfinder camera with a light-powered, coupled selenium meter, Mantar or 40mm lens. Set the dial according to your film speed/type, and then it’s just point and shoot.
– Photos of the camera: front view | angled view | rear view.
– Photos made with the camera: Flickr album | blog post.
– Camera manual

Minolta Minoltina S – 1964 35mm leaf shutter camera; in its day, the world’s most compact 35mm rangefinder camera with coupled exposure metering. This one came in a box of mixed cameras and the shutter dial didn’t work, but I took it apart and fixed it and it turned out to be a pretty good shooter.
– Photos of the camera: front view.
– Photos made with the camera: Flickr album | blog post

Olympus Pen EE-S– 1962-68. Half-frame, “fully automatic” (you still have to set the focus ring) compact camera. Uses a selenium ring around the lens to set aperture and shutter speed. Has a social security number engraved on the bottom – read the blog post below to find out more.
– Photos of the camera: front view
– Photos made with the camera: Flickr album | blog post
– Camera manual

Petri 7s– 1963-76. Rangefinder produced by the renamed (to Petri) Kuribayashi company. Light meter connected to a light sensor that forms a ring around the lens to ensure accuracy, and to allow the use of filters which cover both the lens and the light sensor. A gift from my mother-in-law and her husband.
– Photos of the camera: front view
– Photos made with the camera: Flickr album | blog post
– Camera manual

Polaroid 95 1948. The first of the instant photo “Land cameras”. This one is marked as U.S. Navy property. And it weighs a ton. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: angled side view
– Film no longer available.

Realist f3.5/1041 (“Stereo-Realist”) These were manufactured from 1947 to 1971, but this one (SN A75563) is from around 1952. A cleverly-designed camera that uses dual lenses and dual rangefinders to produce “stereo” photos that can be viewed as 3-D photos through a viewer produced by the same company. This is the same principle used by Fisher-Price Viewmasters, only using 35mm slides instead of the much smaller Viewmaster transparencies. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front view
– Photos made with the camera:

Ricoh 500 1957-1960, uses 35mm film. Unique camera with a fast “bayonet” film advance, dual focus lever, and linked speed and aperture dials, allowing the user to move them in unison for a given light situation. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front view
– Photos made with the camera: Flickr set

Rolls Rollax 50mm, 1939 or 1940. A novelty bakelite camera produced by a company that quickly went out of business, possibly as a result of a patent infringement lawsuit. The camera uses 127 film. Not much is available on the company itself. A unique characteristic of this camera is the fact that it stores a spare roll of film inside the camera.
– Photos of the camera: front view
– Photos made with the camera:

Samyang Quicktouch Not a lot of information about this camera. Samyang is a Korean company founded in 1972 that manufactures lenses; apparently they made at least one camera. This came with a roll of film inside that the user thought had been exposed – but had not. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera:
– Photos made with the camera:

Seneca Scout No. 2A– Box camera manufactured from 1913 to 1925. More complicated than most (multiple aperture settings in addition to a timed setting), this loaded from the side with “Vulcan No. 232” film, the same size as 116 film. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: angled view | front view | side view
– Photos made with the camera:
– Camera manual

Yashica TL-Electro – 1972 35mm single-lens reflex. Mine came with a 2x lens converter and a Super-Takumar 1:3.5/135 lens. It came missing the film winder knob, but these can apparently be had on eBay and one is on the way. We’ll see if it works. Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: front angled view
– Photos made with the camera:
– Camera manual

Zeiss Ikon Ikonta A / 521 – 1940-1956 was the range for these cameras, but based on the fact that it produces 16 4.5×6 cm exposures per roll of 120 film, AND it has a 75mm/f3.5 Tessar lens and Compur Rapid shutter, lead me to believe this one was manufactured during the war, sometime before the factory in Dresden was destroyed in Feb 1945. So the question is, how did it get to the U.S.? We may never know. Mine is pretty battered – missing paint and a tiny pinhole or two in the bellows (repairable) but seems to be intact otherwise.
– Photos of the camera: front view | lens close-up
– Photos made with the camera: blog post 1
– About the Zeiss Ikontas

Movie Cameras

Kodak XL-55, 1972-1974, Super 8 camera designed to be used in low(er) light. Sadly, in most of them the gears break when run after a long period of storage. It even came with an unexposed roll of Super8 Kodachrome inside it! But it would cost 50 bucks to expose and put on DVD. Should I do it? Purchased on eBay.
– Photos of the camera: side view | top view

Kodak Instamatic M4 Movie Camera – Around 1965, part of the “instamatic” line of products which included movie cameras that made everything easy for the user. This was included in a box of cameras I picked up on eBay. The camera, sadly does not work, but it had a roll of film inside it which was, sadly, Kodachrome.
– Photos of the camera:

Bauer 88D, 1958-1960. An odd-looking Standard 8mm camera with a rotating turret. Came with an exposed roll of 8mm film inside – currently at Film Rescue International. Given as a birthday gift by my daughter.
– Photos of the camera: front view | angled side view